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Joseph Mitchell
Joseph Mitchell (1684 - 6 February 1738) was a Scottish poet and playwright. Life Mitchell was the son of a Scottish stonemason. After receiving (according to Theophilus Cibber) a university education in Scotland, he settled in London, where he secured the patronage of the Earl of Stair and Sir Robert Walpole, and by his steady dependence earned the title of "Sir Robert Walpole's Poet."Bayne, 72. Constantly improvident, he speedily squandered £1,000 received at his wife's death. Literary friends as well as noblemen helped him, and once in his distress Aaron Hill presented to him a one-act drama, The Fatal Extravagance, which was performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields 21 April 1721, repeated at Dublin the same year, and printed in Mitchell's name in 1726. Ultimately, however, Mitchell disclosed the transaction, which is something to set against Cibber's estimate of him as "vicious and dishonest," "governed by every gust of irregular appetite." Discourtesy seems to have been among his characteristics, for he returned to Thomson a copy of Winter, together with the couplet, :Beauties and faults so thick lie scattered here, :Those I could read if these were not so near. Thomson winced under his criticism, and writing to Mallet in 1726 called him a "planet-blasted fool." Cibber mentions that Thomson pinned Mitchell in an epigram as a critic with a "blasted eye," but on learning that his victim was really captus altero oculo he wrote — :Why all not faults, injurious Mitchell! why :Appears one beauty to thy blasting eye? Alexander Pope Pope is said, at Mitchell's own request, to have erased his name from the first draft of the Dunciad. Writing Mitchell's Poems on Several Occasions, in 2 vols. 8vo, were published in 1729, and his opera, The Highland Fair; or, The union of the clans, was performed at Drury Lane 20 March 1731, and is described by Genest as "a very pleasing piece." Among his occasional verse a poem called "The Shoe-heel" was "much read on account of the low humour it contains;" another, on the subject of Jonah in the whale's belly (1720), was ironically dedicated to Dr. Watts on the ground that it "was written to raise an emulation among our young poets to attempt divine composures." His Sick-bed Soliloquy to an Empty Purse appeared both in Latin and English, London (1735), 4to. A tragedy entitled The Fate of King James I, upon which he was said by Mallet to have been engaged in 1721, was apparently never completed. He is represented by two songs in Ramsay's 'Tea Table Miscellany,' 1724; by one in Watts's 'Musical Miscellany,' 1731; by his 'Charms of Indolence,' in Southey's 'Later English Poets,' i, 361, and by several lyrics in Johnson's 'Musical Museum.' As a lyrist Mitchell is fluent, if not always melodious, and his heroic couplets are of average merit. His dramatic sense was not strong. See also *List of British poets Publications Poetry *''Lugubres Cantus: Poems on several grave and important subjects''. London: T. Cox / J. McEuen, Edinburgh, 1719. *''Melpomene: A poem''. Edinburgh: James M'Euen, 1719. *''The Doleful Swains: A pastoral poem written originally in the Scotch dialect; with an English version. London: T. Jauncy, 1720. *''Jonah: A poetical paraphrase. London: Aaron Ward / John Oswald, 1720. *''An Ode on the Power of Musick''. London: Thomas Jauncy, 1721. *''An Epistle to John, Earl of Stairs: On the death of Sir D. Dalrymple''. London: E. Bell, 1722. *''The Sine-cure: A poetical petition''. London: 1725. *''The Promotion, and The alternative: Two poetical petitions to Robert Walpole''. Westminster, UK: A. Campbell, for J. Millan, 1726. *''The Shoe-heel: A rhapsody. London: Tho. Astley, 1727. *''The Judgment of Hercules. London: 1727. *''The Totnes Address Versified''. London: J. Williams, 1727. *''A Tale and Two Fables in Verse''. London: J. Roberts, 1727. *''Ratho: A poem to the King''. London: John Gray, 1728. *''Poems on Several Occasions''. (2 volumes), London: L. Gilliver, 1729; London: Harmen Noorthouck, 1732. *''The Monument; or the Muse's motion; upon the death of Sir Richard Steele''. London: J. Roberts, 1729. *''Three Poetical Epistles: To Mr. Hogarth, Mr. Dandridge, and Mr. Lambert, masters of the art of painting''. London: John Watts, 1731. *''The Royal Hermitage; or, Temple of honour: A poem''. London: J. Roberts, 1732. *''Transportation; or, The tower: An Ode''. London: T. Warner, 1732. *''A Familiar Epistle to Sir Robert Walpole''. 1735. *''A Sick-bed Soliloquy to an Empty Purse; in Latin and English verse''. London: W. Mears, 1735. *''Gratulatory verses to Britannia''. London: T. Cooper, 1736. Play *''The Fatal Extravagance: A tragedy'' (mostly written by Aaron Hill). London: J. Watts, 1730. *''The Highland Fair; or, The union of the clans: An opera''. London: J. Watts, 1731. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results: au:Joseph Mitchell 1738, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 22, 2016. References * . Wikisource, Web, Aug. 22, 2016. Notes External links ;Poems *Joseph Mitchell (1684-1738) info & 7 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About * Mitchell, Joseph